The Coffees We Keep Coming Back To This Winter
Cold mornings change what you want in a mug, and they change how your gear behaves. Here are four currently-buyable bags that actually get reordered in our house between October and March.
Guatemala’s Volcanic Highlands and Why They Matter for Flavor
Guatemala has eight official coffee regions and three of them sit on no volcanic soil at all, which makes it the one origin where you can actually test what the volcano is doing. Here is what pumice really changes, and three bags that let you taste the difference.
Reviewing a Rwandan Bourbon Bag from Cooper’s Cask
Almost every Rwandan coffee is Red Bourbon, so the variety on the label tells you very little. Here is what the Gitesi lot from Cooper’s Cask actually tastes like, how to brew it, and the potato-defect caveat nobody likes mentioning.
The AeroPress Go: Is the Travel Version Worth Buying Over the Regular One?
The AeroPress Go is smaller than the Original, but not by nearly as much as the marketing suggests, and it brews two ounces less. Here is when the travel version earns its keep, and when the Go Plus or the plain Original is the smarter buy.
Great Coffee You Can Find in Reykjavik
Iceland drinks more coffee per person than almost anywhere on earth, and Reykjavik’s roasting scene punches far above the city’s size. Here is what Nordic light roasting actually means, why the tap water matters, and the three things that get you closest to that cup at home.
Women-Owned and Women-Farmed Coffee Brands Worth Seeking Out
Two very different claims get printed under the same banner: a roaster owned by women, and coffee grown by women. Here is how to tell them apart, plus three bags you can actually buy right now.
Grind Size Science: Why a Few Microns Matter More Than You’d Think
Grind size is not one number, it is a distribution — and the width of that spread decides more about your cup than the setting you stopped on. Here is what the particle-size research actually shows, and which grinders hold a tight range.
The Best Glass Storage Canisters for Beans
Glass canisters look better on a counter than steel, and the good ones actively push air out instead of sealing oxygen in with your beans. Three picks worth buying, plus the one thing glass gets wrong.
Heart Coffee Roasters: What Makes Them Different
A Finnish pro snowboarder brought Nordic light roasting to a city that had already decided coffee should taste dark and sweet. Here is what Heart does differently, and the bags you can actually buy that get closest to it.
Major Roaster Openings and Closings We’re Watching This Quarter
Starbucks is closing roughly 250 stores while Stumptown, Onyx, and Variety all cut ribbons on new ones. Here is what that split screen says about specialty coffee right now — plus three bags from the roasters doing the building.